Happy Endings
by PrecariousEm
Summary: If you had told him that he'd be running down the street in New York City on New Year's Eve at any time of the night he would have asked you what he was running from. New Year's Mindy/Danny fic.
1. Prologue

So, this is something I've been thinking about since the last ep and since I've rewatched pretty much all of the eps twice now because I heart Mindy and Danny. It will be multichapter, but probably only 3 or 4, and I already have most of it written. So, welcome to my first Mindy Project fic. Reviews are welcome and encouraged ;)

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mindy Project. I am just taking the characters out for a spin.**

Prologue

December 31st, 2012, 10:30 pm

Daniel Castellano was nobody's fool. Really. If you had told him that he'd be running down the street in New York City on New Year's Eve at _any _time of the night he would have asked you what he was running _from_. He had just never, at least in recent times, thought there would be anything important enough to run _to._

But he'd gotten himself emotionally involved and now he couldn't _not _help her, especially if and (more likely) when she was about to make a big mistake.

Mindy had dealt with enough crap in the last month. That asshat Josh had done a real number on her and her confidence and before that, the idiot dentist. And the architect that had never called and that other dude who'd made out with her on Thanksgiving. (And no, he didn't really _want _to know that, but Mindy had a rather loud conversation with Gwen the other day in her office and it would have been a miracle to avoid hearing it.)

Danny was well aware that he had been an ass to her on more than one occasion. Just for fun mostly. Sure, she gave as good as she got and, although she didn't know it, he was usually very careful about what he teased her about and what he left alone, but he was trying to do better. Witty repartee was one thing, bickering and twitting at one another constantly about weight and ex-wives was another.

He hailed a cab and got in, a little over an hour from his destination. If all went well, he would soon be talking to her with more emotional honesty than he'd used in a long time and he wasn't sure he was ready for that. And he was 99% sure that if he did end up opening up, he would be kicking himself afterwards for his foolish behavior. Damn New Year's resolutions and being a better friend and all that crap. They led to you picking up the phone when your coworker called, even if you really, really didn't want to talk to her.

But Shauna had called with some disturbing information. "Dr. C, I really wish you'd have come because this cruise is a-mah-zing. I mean, sure, Dr. L is kinda drunk and she just met up with Dennis, the Thanksgiving guy, remember? Oh, so the reason I was calling. Josh is on the boat, too. I don't know how or why because I specifically checked the guest list, but he's here. Mindy hasn't seen him yet, but…Oops, I just dropped my drink…Um, things are getting weird, here, Dr. C. The captain says he'll take us to international waters at midnight and marry anyone who asks...what should I do, Dr. C?"

And what could he do? Stay at home trying his damndest _not _to watch _Sleepless in Seattle_?

Yes, Danny was now stuck in a romantic comedy, partially of his own volition, and he was not yet sure whether he would end up as the lead. In fact, he was pretty sure his role would be changed to homosexual florist best friend or some crap like that.


	2. Like a Grape Disco Ball

**A/N: So, when I went to post the prologue last night I still didn't have a title but I did have this chapter (not quite sure what I think about it as a whole). I couldn't help myself and ended up making Happy Endings kinda creepy ;). I'm a little twisted and I'm back.  
**

**A big thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed my story. It's so exciting – yeah, I don't get out much. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mindy Project.**

December 28th

Mindy Lahiri was on her lunch break from work and was browsing around looking for a great LBD for the New Year's Eve party that Shauna had been raving about at the office. And Mindy was excited; well, she was trying to be excited.

It had been almost two weeks since the semi-disastrous Christmas party. Mindy was done feeling sorry for herself and was ready to move on with her life. Well, sort of. No, she hadn't been in love with Josh, but there had been potential. And, at this point in her life, potential was good enough and maybe she was lucky to find a guy who had any whatsoever. She was kinda starting to believe Danny's ridiculously specific scenario where she ended up maybe having a kid in like ten years with her second husband. She didn't want to wait that long and was starting to think that maybe she could cheat and marry someone like Josh ASAP (get the first marriage over with) then hope that she found husband number two sooner rather than later. She could have a kid or even two by the time she was 35. It was just simple math. All she had to do was settle.

Sure, in a perfect world she would meet a guy who loved her with all his heart and embraced her curvy/chubby figure with gusto, who told her she was beautiful every day, proposed without any hemming and hawing (or hints from her), and wanted to have children with her soon - and who didn't care that at her age they were statistically less likely to make it to a 50th anniversary.

But this was not a perfect world, so a slightly less douche-y version of Josh would probably have to do.

She passed by the window of a boutique and saw a gorgeous dress among some less than stellar items. It looked a little too short and like it might not drape all that well across her hips and butt, but she was itching to try something on. She stepped into the store as she thought about the year before. Her start to 2012 was not all that great. She'd been in a weird place with Tom and he'd been out of town on some orthodontia conference in Vegas – come to think of it, she probably should've seen some red flags there. She'd sat at home in her sweats, eating cheap chocolate and drinking even cheaper wine out of a box (which was totally a story for another time) while watching a bootlegged version of _New Year's Eve_. She'd sobbed during the whole elevator plotline, though that may have had something to do with the fact that the movie sucked and Ashton Kutcher and Lea Michele had absolutely no chemistry. And Tom had come back and she'd forgiven him for whatever little fight they'd had, and that was the beginning of the end of their relationship.

So, New Year's Eve 2012? It was going to rock, even if Mindy had to fake it. And it looked like she would have to. The stupid dress couldn't even zip up and she'd already gone a size up – she'd barely even started "Operation: Find Mr. SortofOK" and things were already going downhill.

"Ma'am, can I help you with anything?" asked Bella, the perky holiday sales associate (size 2, of course) from the other side of the dressing room door.

"You could simmer down on the Christmas cheer, skipper!" Mindy grumbled.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, I seem to need another size here." Steeling herself, Mindy sighed and opened the door, preparing herself for embarrassment. "Usually this size fits… could you check the size higher?"

"Hmmm, let's see. The, um, 12 doesn't seem to be available, let's try the 14." The salesgirl's youth did not mask the calculating look in her eye as she gave Mindy the once over. She was just pandering to Mindy now, had left to seek out that dress in whatever size she thought appropriate and she'd probably find a couple of other "big girl dresses", as well. Probably laughing with the other employees about the chunky girl who thought she could wear trends that she would never be able to pull off.

Mindy gritted her teeth and knew that in order to handle this she would have to play dirty. Beyonce Pad Thai was coming out and she was going to enjoy having this little twit at her beck and call for the next hour or so before leaving with nothing. No commission for Bella, if that was her real name. She pulled out her phone and dialed work, "Shauna, if anyone asks, I am taking a long lunch and won't be back until 2."

…

"…so then I made her get me this awful purple romper that had, like, a bra and panties outlined on it in rhinestones…looked like a freakin' Bedazzler threw up on it. And I put it on; it fit like a glove, by the way, and pranced around the back room for a good five minutes. Seriously, you wear a nice outfit and act rich and you can do whatever the heck you want… I mean, I was voguing, Gwen… hold on; Danny's been waiting at the door for like the last five minutes…"

Mindy motioned for Danny to come into her office, "What can I do for you, babe?" In the earpiece of her Bluetooth she heard Gwen sputter "Babe?" but, whatever. She'd called him babe before plenty of times. It just felt weird this time because they were actually kind of friends and because somehow it had come out less clipped (and more endearing) than she had intended.

Danny stood in the doorway for a minute, transfixed. He'd come to ask her a question, an awkward question, and had easily been taken in by the scene. She'd been talking a mile a minute about dress shopping, her hair flowing gently as she laughed and talked with her hands, even demonstrated said voguing and twirling right there in her office in her stocking feet. He'd told her this morning that those 4 inch heels wouldn't make it through the day and would point it out, but right now he was focused on the way the sun came through the window and hit her just right. It made her skin glow, her festive blouse shimmer, and highlighted the tiny bit of cleavage the blouse expertly showed while still remaining work-appropriate. But what he noticed the most was the sparkles and shimmers in her patterned stockings as she paced the floor and twirled around. What do you call them? Fishnets wasn't the right word, but they were lacy and sexy and he couldn't help but stare at her.

"Well, Danny, I don't have all day."

Right. She'd asked him a question about why he as at the door. He was at the door because… right. "So, I have this patient and I just need a little advice…"

"You need advice from me? Gwen, did you hear that?"

"Please hang up with Gwen. This is professional. At least on my part." He was shuffling his feet now and his ears had turned red.

Mindy felt a little sorry for him and said, "Gwen, I've gotta go help Danny with something. Talk to you soon," and took her Bluetooth out. "OK, Danny, it's just me and you now."

"OK, so…If my patient asks for a 'happy ending,' is she saying what I think she's saying? Or does she want something else, anything else." Danny shuddered, looking embarrassed, somewhat apologetic, a little angry, but mainly just disturbed.

Mindy laughed and looked him straight in the eye, giving him the bad news. "Yes, she wants what you think she wants and yes, it's good that you came to ask me. Stupid woman probably watched _The Client List_ and wanted to try to get a twofer with her gyno instead of going to a masseuse."

"So…" he started.

"Danny, my boy, head back to your office and I'll take care of this. Be there in just a minute." She slid her heels back on, slipped on her lab coat, and marched out of her office and into the examination room, picking up the chart. "Mrs. Shubaker? Dr. Castellano asked me to come over to do a consult..."

…

Danny did as she said and she joined him in his office about five minutes later. "There we go, all taken care of. You know, I kinda liked that show but it's totally not cool for the women here to hit on and try to take advantage of us. We're doctors, duh."

Danny frowned in consternation. "Do we need to go to legal?"

"I will be sending them an email with the audio that I got from our conversation, but I was totally cool about it. Worst case scenario, she doesn't come back." At his raised eyebrow she went on, "What, Danny, do you think I'd go into a potential he-said/she-said/she-said situation without getting it on tape?"

"I didn't know what you were going to do. I just knew that it was a Mindy thing."

"What do you mean, a 'Mindy' thing?"

"I dunno. You get things done - firing Beverly, telling off the midwives and getting our patients back, and apparently dancing around in some kind of grape disco ball outfit just to screw with a salesgirl who probably gets minimum wage unless she makes some big sale."

"You say that like it's a bad thing. The girl was awful to me and basically called me fat…Well, she judged me with her eyes."

"Then she probably deserved it. I would've loved to see that. Bet you looked cute."

The look in his eyes and sound of his voice was a combination of pride and what Mindy thought was a little bit of wonder. She allowed him (and herself) one bright smile before almost sprinting out of his office, heels clicking down on the floor across the short distance to her own, not quite sure what to do with the shift in dynamic. A month ago he would have made a cruel comment about her weight. Today he was saying that she probably looked cute in a disco ball jumpsuit or something like that. So weird.


End file.
